Better in Time  A RemusTonks Fanfiction
by TheElejahDiaries
Summary: A fanfiction about Remus and Tonks and the trials their relationship can withstand. COMPLETE


He took her in his arms, not wanting to let go, but at the same time, he instantly regretted it. Awkwardly, they pulled away from each other after a moment or two. She looked up at him in shock. She opened her mouth as if to say something, thought better of it, and closed it.

"I – I'm sorry," he said, and turned and walked away.

He left her standing there, open-mouthed and wanting more.

"About what happened yesterday," said Remus, pulling Tonks aside into the kitchen of Grimmauld Place. "I didn't mean anything by it. I don't know why I did it, really..."

"It's alright," she said cautiously. She didn't know if she should tell him how she felt – about the hug. He already knew that she loved him. She knew that he knew.

Suddenly, she realized what she needed to do.

She seized the front of his cloak that he hadn't been comfortable enough to shrug off yet with both hands. She stood up on her tiptoes, as Remus was nearly a foot taller than she, and kissed him.

The crowd at the table fell quiet. Everyone was there: Molly, Arthur, Fred, George, Ron, Harry, Hermione, Sirius, and Mad-Eye. _Everyone_ saw everything. The surprise that Remus felt, then the painful fighting with himself – he wanted to kiss her back, but he couldn't – and then, finally, the defeat. He kissed her back, more passionately than he had really intended.

No one at the table said a word. Finally, they pulled apart and everyone redirected their eyes to the meal that had just been served by Kreacher, the house-elf, Sirius, and Harry.

"So!" said Sirius loudly. "There's French onion soup, and bread, and of course, treacle tart," he said, winking in Harry's direction.

"Looks good!"

"Ooh, yum!"

Everyone was focusing as hard as they could on what Sirius said, as to give Remus and Tonks privacy.

Remus looked down into Tonks's eyes. They were a leafy-green today. He liked that. He took her by the hand and led her into the drawing room.

"Remus! I'm sorry! I don't know what happ-"

He pressed his index finger to her lips. She stopped talking and looked into his eyes – his ice-blue eyes – and kissed him again.

The next morning, around four, Tonks snuck out of Remus's room and hurried downstairs to her own. She climbed into her bed, wriggled under the covers and fell asleep.

_Knock-knock-knock! _

"Unfff," Tonks muttered. She opened her eyes to see Sirius standing in her doorway, smiling.

"Wakey-wakey! Time for breakfast, sunshine!" Sirius laughed.

"Mhmm," she answered and dove under the covers once again.

Twenty minutes later, she was sitting at the dining table, once again across from Remus. They were avoiding each other's eyes like the plague. Once, their hands brushed when they both reached for pumpkin juice. They both snapped back, glancing at the people around them to see if they had been caught. No one was staring at them, making accusations with their eyes, so they assumed that no one had seen.

After everyone had finished with supper, Mrs. Weasley, who was like a second mother to Tonks, pulled her aside into the kitchen.

"Are you alright, dear? You seem a bit jumpy this morning," said Molly with her secret, smug smile.

"Yeah! I'm fine, really," she said when Molly looked at her reproachingly.

"How's Remus?"

"Fine! Fine, he's fine."

Molly sat down at the small table for two in the kitchen and gestured to the chair across from her. Tonks sat down and her her head in her hands.

"Molly! He won't even look at me after – after – last night..."

Molly's eyes widened a bit, but she hid her surprise well. After all, she was happy for them. Tonks had confided in her since the beginning, since she had fallen deeply in love with Remus Lupin.

"Oh, Dora, dear! He'll come around. When I first met Arthur, he had no interest at all! All the man cared about were Muggle toys!" chuckled Molly. "He did come around though, and I couldn't be happier."

"But that's different, Molly! Remus refuses to love me! He thinks he's too dangerous, and he won't hear a word otherwise! He's so _stubborn_!"

"Oh, Dora! Come here," said Molly, opening her arms for Tonks to stumble into. Without realizing she was going to, Tonks dissolved into tears.

"I just feel like, after what happened last night in the dining room and upstairs, he won't want to talk anymore. He's probably so embarassed!"

"Shh, shh," said Molly, patting Tonks's back and fighting tears herself. She thought of Tonks as a daughter and hated to see her hurt like this.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Tonks jumped up, wiped her puffy eyes furiously, and stopped dead.

Remus was standing in the doorway, a hand having knocked on the door and pushed him into the room. Tonks suspected it was Sirius.

"Uh," said Remus.

Tonks inclined her head at him. "Yes?" she said, her voice cracking with emotion. She half-turned towards Molly, who quickly got the hint.

"Oh, I've got to go help Ginny – something..." she muttered and hurried out of the kitchen.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry about last night, I'm sorry about _last night_," he said, hinting at what had happened after their kiss in the dining room.

"Why are you _sorry_?" Tonks half-shouted.

"Why? Because you know why! I could hurt you, Dora! I could kill you!"

"How many times do I have to tell you, Remus? I don't care! I know that you _could_, but you wouldn't! I believe that you have enough control! You certainly did last night."

Remus blanched.

Tonks wiggled her eyebrows, hands on her hips.

"Wha – how can you say that? You don't care that I could kill you! Never in my life have I heard something so stupid!" he shouted, his arms flying up in the air.

"Stupid, am I?" said Tonks quietly.

"Dora, you know that's not what I meant! How can I make you see reason?" he cried.

Tonks stormed out of the room and slammed the door behind her. She ran up to her room and flung herself onto the bed and cried.

Once again, there was a knock at Tonks's door.

"What?" she snapped in a congested voice.

The door opened and Remus came in. "Hi," he said simply.

"What do you want?" she asked angrily.

"I wanted to say that I treated you badly, and that I'm sorry. . ."

"Oh. I see," she said, feeling suddenly small on her bed.

"Yes," he said.

He sat down on the edge of her bed, as far away from her as he could on the full-size mattress. Seized by some sudden impulse, he took her hand in his, stroking it with his thumb.

She half-smiled at him.

"I'm sorry too," she said suddenly, breaking the silence that had overcome them.

"What for?" he questioned, confused.

"I snapped at you, and I shouldn't have kissed you in front of everyone like that. I just couldn't help it. You were there, and so was I, and I was tired of waiting," she said quickly, the words coming from her mouth like a waterfall.

"Don't worry," he whispered. She looked at him questioningly. Just an hour before, he had seemed angry at her for it. "I liked it."

He reached over, shut the door, and they were lost in themselves again.

Later, at supper, they sat together. And they couldn't take their eyes off each other. Or stop touching each other.

And everyone noticed.

"So, Remus, it seems you and Dora worked things out," said Molly.

"Oh, yes, we did," said Remus, grasping Tonks's hand underneath the table.

Tonks's hair turned from purple to her favorite bubble-gum pink. Remus smiled at her adoringly.

Everything seemed to be falling into place.

Just then, Mad-Eye stumbled through the door, gripping his walking stick.

"Tonks!" he thundered. "We need you for watch. Rumor has it that the Death Eaters are planning something, and I want security stepped up."

"Alright, just give me a moment," she said, stuffing a forkful of potatoes into her mouth.

She swallowed and took her wand from her pocket. As she walked toward Mad-Eye, she was pulled back by the familiar rough hand on hers.

"Be careful," he said, fear in his eyes.

"Always am," she said, and followed Mad-Eye out the door.

Later that night, after everyone had finished supper and helped clean up, Remus found himself alone in the drawing room, pacing. The sounds of his footsteps were uneven from the limp he had attained after so many harsh full moons.

"Mate?" said a voice from the doorway.

Remus did not stop pacing. He looked up and saw Sirius's worried face.

"Hmm?" he asked.

"Tonks is going to be fine, Remus. You know that. Just because Mad-Eye heard a rumor doesn't make it so."

Remus nodded. "But suppose they do invade the Ministry. What if she gets hurt? What if she gets -"

"Remus!" Sirius said, cutting him off. He walked over to Remus and put his hands on Remus's shoulders. "She's going to be fine."

Just then, the door burst open. Sirius and Remus spun around.

It was Kingsley Shacklebolt, another member of the Order. His robes were torn and there was a cut under his eye.

"They – invaded – the – Ministry!" he said, trying to catch his breath. He must have Disapparated right from the Ministry.

"What?" shouted Remus. "Who's hurt?" His eyes were wide, his breathing quickened, and he was shaking, not ready for the news he didn't want to hear.

"Only two of us were seriously injured enough to go to Mungo's," replied Kingsley.

"Who?" cried Remus, feeling nearly every emotion all at once.

"Mad-Eye," said Kingsley, and both Sirius and Remus hung their heads, shaking them. "And. . . Tonks."

Remus's head snapped up, his eyes wider than before, his mouth gaping. He had expected to hear it, but it was different when he actually did. Without another word from any of them, Remus ran to the front door of Grimmauld Place and Disapparated to St. Mungo's.

"How may I help you, sir?" said the woman at the front desk at Mungo's.

"I need to see Nymphadora Tonks," said Remus, his voice shaking so badly he could barely speak.

"I'm sorry, what was the name?" asked the woman, still smiling serenely as if no one in this hospital was injured, dying, or otherwise.

"Nymphadora Tonks!" he shouted loudly. A few people stopped and looked at him. He ignored them.

"Ah, yes, here we go, sir. Ms. Tonks will be on the fourth floor," said the woman and Remus hurried up to the fourth floor.

Finally, he found Tonks's room.

"Merlin. . .," he whispered when he saw her.

She lay on the bed, unmoving. She was covered in gashes, some that looked far too deep. Her hair was all over the place and was red; not because she'd changed it, but because of all the blood.

Remus sat in the chair next to her, took her hand, and cried.

After a few minutes or a few hours, Remus didn't know, a Healer came and shoo-ed Remus away.

"She'll be okay. I just have to heal the gashes, get her cleaned up. Then you'll be able to sit with her," said the female Healer.

Instead of going to the fifth floor where the large waiting room was, he stood right outside Tonks's door, pacing. His eyes were puffy and his nose stuffed. A little bit after he had been asked to leave her room, everyone else showed up. All the Weasleys, Harry, Hermione, Sirius, and Kingsley said hello to Remus, petted him on the back, hugged him, or just looked at him, their eyes sorrowful.

Everyone but Remus, Sirius, and Molly went to see Mad-Eye, who was in a much better condition than Tonks was. Molly kept patting Remus's back, trying to reassure him.

Finally, the Healer came out of the room.

"She was Crucio-ed," she said, and Remus shuddered in horror. "But that's not all. There was some sort of curse used on her that we've never seen before that created all those gashes. We successfully healed them all, though she may have scars where the deeper ones were. But, they'll be just fine."

Molly and Sirius sighed in relief, but Remus's eyebrows scrunched up.

"Did you just say 'they'?" he asked confusedly.

"Yes," said the Healer slowly. "You do know, don't you?"

"Know what?" asked Molly. All three of them were now looking confused, staring at the Healer.

"Nymphadora is pregnant," she said.

Remus blew past the Healer and into Tonks's room.

She was sitting up on the bed, looking much healthier, her hair having turned a dark brown. She smiled at Remus who did not return the gesture.

"You're _pregnant_?" he bellowed.

"I didn't know 'til just now! I swear it, Remus! But, aren't you happy? It's yours."

"No, I am not happy, Dora!" He walked over to her bedside, leaned over her, and said quietly, "What if it's like _me_?"

"It won't be," she said, tears in her eyes.

"Remus," said Sirius. He gestured toward Tonks, who had now started crying. The look in his eyes said, 'She almost died just now, and you're yelling at her'.

Remus took a deep breath, sat down in the chair beside her bed again.

"Dora?" he said hesitantly. She had her head turned away from him, facing the windows. She had pressed her fist against her mouth to try and keep from crying harder. "Dora, I'm sorry. I'm glad you're okay. I don't know what I'd have done if I lost you."

Tonks turned her head slowly back to face Remus. "Really?" she asked, wiping her eyes.

By this time, Sirius and Molly were backing out of the room, wanting to give them some privacy.

Remus nodded. "I love you," he said. He had never said this to another human being after he had been bitten. He had always felt like he would be rejected – not for _who _he was, but for _what _he was. Now, he had someone who loved him regardless.

As the months went on, Tonks became more and more 'inflated', as Remus liked to call it. They spent every night together in his room, except for the full moons, which only made Remus more fearful of the child becoming a werewolf. Every full moon night, Tonks would wait for Remus to turn back, and would pet his head as he went to sleep, shaken from the night's events.

Every night, though, when Remus thought Tonks was asleep, he would talk to her ever-growing stomach about his mother and his family. Unbeknownst to Remus, Tonks was only pretending, and wouldn't sleep until he did. They would fall asleep with her hand in his, both smiling.

Day by day, Tonks waddles more and more, and she laughed about how ridiculous she looked. Molly enjoyed making clothes for the baby, and she told Tonks one day what she thought.

"I don't know, but I just have this feeling that it's a boy," said Molly.

"Really? Because I do too," replied Tonks, her hand on her stomach.

They both smiled and fawned over her stomach, thinking of baby names.

As the weeks leading up to Tonks's due-date loomed closer than ever, Remus became more and more worried for the child. Every time he would try and say 'What if it's like me?', Tonks would shush him with a kiss, reassuring him that it would all be okay.

Finally, the day that Remus had been somewhat dreading and Tonks – and everyone else in the house – had been waiting for arrived. Tonks was brought to St. Mungo's in the event that something should go wrong, and Remus refused to leave her side. He stayed with her the entire time.

Remus realized that he was capable of loving more that one person when he held his son Teddy Remus Lupin for the first time. He cried, as did Tonks, and he was the happiest he had ever been in his life. They made Harry the godfather and Molly the godmother. Everyone cooed over how adorable he was.

The real relief came to Remus only when the Healers told him that Teddy had not inherited any werewolf traits. He was actually a Metamorphmagus like his mother, and his hair, which, when he was born, had been a brown, was now turning between green and purple.

They were able to go home around eleven that night, and they watched Teddy every moment. His eyes were the exact blue that Remus's were. Tonks and Remus were both brimming with happiness, as was everyone around them. Molly held him every chance she got, and Hermione and Ginny fawned over him. Harry was proud to be Teddy's godfather and swore to himself that he would be there for Teddy forever.

Finally, everyone went to bed, and Remus and Tonks went up to their room with Teddy. Tonks laid him in the crib right beside her, and Teddy fell asleep almost instantly.

"I am so proud of you," said Remus, stroking Tonks's cheek. "I love you," he said, and kissed her.

They fell asleep holding each other in their arms, Teddy sleeping through the night.

All was well.


End file.
